The Holly Holy Day. Nantwich was the site of a crucial battle in the English Civil War when, in 1644, the Royalists lay siege to Parliamentarian Nantwich. By the end of 1643, Cheshire was in the hands of the Royalists with the exception of Nantwich, which was a Parliamentarian Garrison. For six weeks, the village was under siege until Sir Thomas Fairfax and his army of 5000 Parliamentarians arrived on the scene. Finally, on the 25th January 1644, a battle lasting for two hours culminated in the capture of the Royalist baggage train together with several senior Royalist officers and the siege was lifted. Fairfax's success led him to command the New Model Army just over a year later but in celebration of the lifting of the siege, the locals wore sprigs of holly in the ... read more

A quick transcept across Paris roughly along les Grands Boulevards... read more

A quick trip around the key tourist sites and sights ... but not Notre Dame!... read more

Even though I'd spent a year in Paris, occasionally one has to visit the tourist sites ...... read more

Another early start and another race to have breakfast and put the tents down by 07h00. This morning was a record and we managed to leave the camp site by 06h45! Fortunately it wasn't a cold night although the wind of the previous afternoon had disappeared. Most of the sand from the Namib was now in my tent, even though I'd closed the air vents and zipped the flaps tight. We were all settling down to the start of the journey when a Cheetah ran across the road and into the grass. None of us was prepared and no cameras were out. In fact, this was not Cheetah country so it was a surprise even for our guide! Roughly an hour into the journey, we stopped outside a local village and went to meet the Himba ... read more